Derby Talk

Derby Talk is a forum for Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta and other similar races where a child and an adult work together to create a race vehicle and a lot of fun and memories

PINEWOOD DERBY RACE TRACK TIMERS -- BUILD YOUR OWN OR LET ME DESIGN & BUILD FOR YOU
If you have a pinewood derby race track and found that the track timers out there are just too expensive for your budget, I may be able to help. As part of my hobby I have designed and built a number of track timers and have developed a low cost yet effective track timer that may suit your needs.
See the attached photos for two versions of a 6-lane timer. One design utilizes a gate (start) switch and infrared sensors at the finish line to provide elapsed race times to the nearest millisecond. The other slightly simpler design does not use a gate (start) switch and provides finish order sequence only.
Does your track have more or fewer lanes? No problem. My design is well documented and is relatively easy to modify by someone with basic technical and novice programming skills (see below for offer of assistance).
My design keeps hardware to a minimum and utilizes your PC (or MAC) to display race results. It is based on the Arduino UNO® micro-controller board (ref. https://www.arduino.cc/) and free public domain display software (ref. https://processing.org) to provide a low cost solution.
If you're interested in using this design to build your track timer please respond to this add and I will send you an email with an attached zip file containing all the information you need, including a schematic diagram, parts list, design notes, software installation notes, and software source code to get your project up and running.
NEED HELP BUILDING YOUR TIMER?
My services are available for a reasonable fee to cover expenses and supplies only (labor is free since this is my hobby). Services include:
• Modify software to accommodate the number of lanes of your track
$10 Flat fee
Includes updated schematic diagram and parts list
• Build the timer for you
$20 plus cost of parts and shipping
Includes any software changes that may be required to accommodate the number of lanes and
any unique features your track may have.
Assumes end user will install optical lane sensors, gate (start) switch and associated
wiring/connectors
If you are a scouting, Awana or other non-profit organization and don't have someone with the skills or resources to build your own track timer, I may be able to help and would charge you only for the materials needed for me to build and ship your timer. I anticipate material cost to be around $50.00. This cost is for the Arduino micro-controller board, gate (start) switch and lane sensors only and assumes you already have the track. Installation and wiring of the lane sensors and gate (start) switch to your track would still have to be performed by you. However, I can provide guidance via phone or email.
GrandPrix Race Manager™ Users:
If you're looking for a timer that works with the GrandPrix Race Manager™ professional software package by Lisano Enterprises, LLC (http://grandprix-software-central.com/), I have developed a version of my race timer that interfaces with it (A prototype is up and running). Let me know if you're interested in this design solution. Here is a You Tube video-https://youtu.be/g7ddm4JIcMs

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I've never been a fan of timers that do not have some sort of on board display of the heat results, at least not for running a race with. For a test track, that type of timer will work well. The problem that I see is if there is an issue with the computer or the computer interface, then you cannot run your race. But if there was a results display on the timer, the race could still be run. I get customers calling and emailing all the time that have run into problems with the computer interface, so it is an all too often problem. Usually, it is a USB driver issue, but not always. It is safe to say that it is the #1 tech support issue that we deal with every season.

I'd recommend adding in some simple LED's as a rudimentary way to display the finish order. They can flash at different rates to indicate the finish order. Then someone has a fallback if they run into a computer or interface issue.

gpraceman wrote:I'd recommend adding in some simple LED's as a rudimentary way to display the finish order. They can flash at different rates to indicate the finish order. Then someone has a fallback if they run into a computer or interface issue.

Our finish gate came with a "flashing LED" display. First place is a steady-on LED. Fourth place is a steady-off LED. Second and third place are flashing LEDs, one fast and one slow.

We can never remember which is second and which is third though, so we build a separate display with 4-inch seven-segment displays.

Randy Lisano is absolutely correct. Having numeric displays to display the finish order and/or finish times is a big advantage and a good fallback if computer problems are encountered. My intent in creating this design as shown in the video from an earlier post was to present a design using minimal components for those who may not be as tech savvy, or those who just want to keep costs down. I’ve also designed and built derby timers having numeric displays for 3, 4 and 6-lane tracks that operate in both a stand-alone mode or with a PC connected.

Having personally participated in running a number of races with my son (AKA Scoremaker) I’ve found that the younger youth are more interested in who won the race and not necessarily the finish time (many don’t yet grasp the concept of milliseconds). Hence if you’re going to build a timer with displays I recommend you at least use large single digit numeric displays (i.e. of the 2 – 3 inch tall variety) to display the finish order so that they can be seen from a good distance away. The common 0.56 inch numeric displays can be used to display the finish times.